Italy's Court Legend Nicola Pietrangeli Passes Away at the Age of 92
The tennis champion is among a select trio of Italian men to claim a major singles title.
Italian sport says goodbye to a genuine icon: Nicola Pietrangeli, a double French Open champion, passed away at 92.
The player made history by emerging as the first Italian to secure a Grand Slam singles title, achieving his maiden triumph at the French Open in 1959 and successfully defending the coveted trophy in 1960.
With a remarkable 48 career titles, Pietrangeli was long held to be the nation's greatest ever player prior to the advent of current star and four-time major winner Jannik Sinner.
"Italian tennis is mourning an titan. Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian honored in the World Tennis Hall of Fame, has died," stated the national federation.
In addition to his pair of French Open victories, Pietrangeli also finished as runner-up in Paris in the years 1961 and 1964.
He boasts a record 164 matches played for Italy in the prestigious team competition, winning 120 of them, and guided his country to its maiden title in 1976.
Officials of the Italian Open, an event where he was a double winner, commented: "We are profoundly saddened that we bid farewell to Nicola Pietrangeli, a veritable legend of Italian tennis..."
